Kelma vs Tidio
Tidio alternative: Kelma vs Tidio (Lyro AI)
Tidio is a live-chat suite with AI sold separately. Kelma is AI-first with the live-chat inbox included.
Tidio is a polished live-chat and helpdesk product, popular with e-commerce stores. Its AI agent, Lyro, is genuinely good — but it's priced as a separate add-on on top of your base plan, and that's where the bill surprises people. Numbers below are from Tidio's public pricing as of July 2026.
The short version: a Tidio Starter plan is $29/month, and Lyro AI starts at another $39/month for just 50 AI conversations — about $68/month before your bot has answered its 51st question, with branding removal another $20/month on Growth. Kelma includes the AI agent, the human-takeover inbox and branding removal in one plan: €15/month for 5M message tokens — roughly 1,500–2,500 AI replies.
Kelma vs Tidio + Lyro AI at a glance
| Feature | Kelma | Tidio + Lyro AI |
|---|---|---|
| Entry cost with working AI | €15/mo all-in | $29 (Starter) + $39 (Lyro 50 convos) ≈ $68/mo |
| AI conversations for that money | ~1,500–2,500 | 50 (then higher Lyro tiers) |
| AI included in base plans | Yes, every plan including free | No — Lyro is a separate add-on |
| Trains on your website & docs | Website crawl, PDFs, Notion, Google Docs, YouTube, Q&A | Website & help-centre content |
| Live chat / human takeover | Yes — inbox, presence, routing | Yes — mature live-chat suite |
| E-commerce integrations | Via API, webhooks, Zapier/Make + custom actions | Native Shopify/WooCommerce apps |
| Ticketing helpdesk | Support tickets built in; not a full helpdesk | Yes |
| Remove branding | Included on all paid plans | ~$20/mo extra on Growth |
| Channels | Web, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, Slack, SMS, email | Web, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, email |
| Public API + webhooks | Yes, all paid plans | Yes (higher tiers) |
| Currency & VAT | EUR, no VAT added | USD + VAT where applicable |
Tidio figures from tidio.com/pricing, checked July 2026: Free $0 (50 chats, one-time 50 Lyro replies), Starter $29/mo, Growth from $59/mo, Plus from $749/mo. Lyro AI is an add-on from $39/mo for 50 AI conversations; Flows from $29/mo; branding removal ~$20/mo on Growth. Annual billing ~2 months cheaper.
Choose Kelma if…
- One price includes the AI: €15/month for 5M message tokens — roughly 1,500–2,500 AI replies, with no separate AI add-on to buy.
- AI answers are the product, not an add-on — Kelma's agent is trained on your website, documents, Notion, Google Docs and YouTube from the free plan up.
- Branding removal is included on every paid plan; Tidio charges ~$20/month extra for it on Growth.
- Human takeover, team presence, routing and a shared inbox are included from Starter.
- WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, Slack, SMS and email channels included.
- Prices are final EUR — no VAT added, and annual billing gives 2 months free.
Choose Tidio if…
- You mainly want human live chat with deep e-commerce tooling — Tidio's Shopify/WooCommerce integrations (order lookups, cart tools) are more mature.
- You need a full helpdesk with ticketing views your support team already expects.
- Your AI volume is tiny and you're already paying for Tidio anyway.
Try the difference on your own content
Paste your website address, watch Kelma learn it, and ask it your customers' hardest questions — free, no card, and your agent is never deleted.
Frequently asked questions
Only as a small one-time trial allowance. Ongoing Lyro AI conversations are a separate add-on starting around $39/month for 50 conversations, on top of your base Tidio plan. Kelma includes AI conversations in every plan's monthly tokens.
For AI-led support, yes by a wide margin: Tidio Starter + entry Lyro is about $68/month for 50 AI conversations; Kelma Starter is €15/month for 5M message tokens — roughly 1,500–2,500 AI replies.
Yes. Kelma has a shared inbox with live human takeover: the AI pauses when you reply, the visitor sees your message marked as from the team, and you hand back to the AI when done. Teams get presence, capacity and routing too.
If your priority is human-first live chat with native Shopify/WooCommerce order tooling and a traditional ticketing helpdesk, Tidio's suite is more mature. If your priority is an AI agent that answers most questions itself, Kelma gives you far more AI for far less.
More comparisons
Competitor names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Figures reflect each vendor's public pricing pages as of July 2026 and may have changed — always confirm on their site. Spotted something outdated? Tell us via the chat widget and we'll fix it.